When Fate Interferes
by canthelpbutnotice
Summary: Tristan never went to military school but this is a future fic. Revolves around a ten year reunion. Trory.
1. Chapter 1

This plot is kinda based off a story I read but I can't remember what it was but it was a really good story. So thanks whoever wrote it.

I own nothing and this applies to the rest of the story.

****

Tristan never left for military school and is now vice-president of some big company. He wouldn't give into his feelings and infuriated Rory till they graduated from Chilton. Paris is one of Rory's best friends and is now married to Jess.

"Paris Mariano speaking. Uh huh, uh huh I'm sorry to cut this short but I have a very important meeting to get to right now. Thank you. Bye, bye."

As if on cue her speakerphone went off. _Hey Par, He's here._

"Thanks Mads. Send him in." she responded pressing the little speaker button.

"Hello, Mrs. Mariano. I'm…_Paris_! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm supposed to be having a meeting for a merge." Usually the illustrious Paris Mariano let her CEOs and vice-presidents handle all merges but this one was way more personal.

"What have you been up to?"

"Well, first I graduated then _surprise_ I got married."

"To who?"

"Jess Mariano."

"The author? How'd you meet him?"

"Yeah, he's an author and I met him through Rory. They're old friends."

Suddenly his throat was very dry. "Rory Gilmore. What has she been up to?" he managed to croak out.

"She's a journalist for the _New York Times_."

"Everybody knows that."

"So you meant love lifewise? Yeah, she's not married, no kids."

"Almost positive she would have married Bag Boy."

"Well she didn't. Anything else you would like to know?"

"And Madeleine is your secretary."

"Yeah, I keep trying to promote her but she won't go away. So on to business matters."

****

1 hour later

"Nice doing business with you. How long will you be in town?"

"Just another week or two, a month at most. Why?"

"Would you like to come to dinner? We could catch up and you could meet Jess."

"Sure. When?"

"How about tomorrow at six?"

"All right. See you tomorrow."

"Bye Maddy," he said as he walked onto the elevator.

"What are you up to Paris?"

"What do you mean Mad?"

"Since when do you care about catching up? You usually want to strangle yourself every time your mom feeds you gossip on ex-Chiltonites."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Rory isn't happening to come over for dinner tomorrow? Is she?"

"And what if she is?"

"It'll never work Paris."

"How do you know?"

"Jess will never let you do that. She hated him back then. How do you expect to set them up?"

"Love works in strange and mysterious ways." 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - The first part was pretty badly written and rushed and not to mention short but I didn't change it since it was all I could fit without giving away certain aspects of the story. This part should be a little better but boring since the more climatic stuff occurs in the next part. So if this is sucky, I take criticism pretty well.

  
  
  
  
  


"Hello? Paris, am I still coming over tonight?" Rory cradled the receiver all the while pounding away at her keyboard, hoping to finish her front page story before the 5 o'clock deadline that day.

  


"Yeah, of course Ror. Why wouldn't you? I mean we haven't actually talked to each other in over a week," Paris responded trying her best to sound nonchalant since Madeline telling Rory about her new scheme was more than probable.

  


"Well Mads sounded kinda anxious before she put me through. You haven't been planning anything again. Cause the last blind date made me consider giving up the male gender in its entirety." She let out a long sigh as she hit the 'Save' button and sent the article to her editor.

  


"No, I'm not planning anything," Paris attempted to control the squeak in her voice that usually presented itself when she was lying. "Besides you have to come, Jess is making the pasta that you love and he might throw a hissy fit if you don't show."

  


"All right but I have to leave now. This is the first time I've finished my article early and I'm not staying in this damned office a minute longer that I need to. I'll see you guys in three hours and if you don't want hell to pay there better not be any surprises. Bye." Rory hung up and left the high rise building, intent on visiting her favorite bookstore and soaking in the tub.

  


"Bye Ror," Paris shakily put down the receiver after hearing Rory's threat and knowing full well what it may call for. Her head suddenly snapped up as is sensing rather than hearing the presence leaning in her office door frame. "Before you can say anything, Rory only threatened to do something to me. She doesn't know enough details for you to start arranging my funeral, yet."

  


"It will never work, Par," Madeline answered with confidence knowing she would never be fired for disrespecting the boss.

  


"Oh, yeah, that's what you said when I first introduced you to Dan. Now you guys are two months engaged and have a date set," Paris gloated proudly while inspecting another potential contract.

  


"You realize that gloating looks really bad on you, right? Anyways as a favor I won't say 'I told you so'," She retreated back to her front desk, leaving Paris to wonder how she was going to avoid the impending crisis.

  


Two hours later that seemed to bring her closer to her death Paris was waving goodbye to Bruce, the security guard, and on her cell phone preparing Jess for a night of what could only be described as hell raising.

  


"YOU DID WHAT!" Paris had purposefully moved her ear away from the speaker the moment the words had left her mouth. "Jess, can you not scream at me right now? I have just realized the stupidity in what I've done and I'm getting a headache trying to figure out how I screwed up that badly."

  


"Okay, I'm sorry. But I didn't even go to high school with you guys and I remember how adamantly she hated him back then, especially after you-know-what," he responded a little gentler this time but remained in big brother mode.

  


"Yeah, I realize that. But there's no way to stop the inevitable now. Both of them are probably on their way now. If he comes before the two of us try to be civil cause I seriously think Rory will beat the crap out of him once she realizes who it is."

  


"I'll try my best but I'm not promising anything. I got to go now the food's done. Love you." She heard the click before she had the chance to respond cementing the fact that although Jess had reasonably calmed down he was still mad at her. Paris turned onto the on-ramp hoping that there was no traffic that would further delay her efforts of keeping things civil during the night.

  


Meanwhile... 

  


Jess heard the doorbell ring and after checking the clock on the stove decided it was Rory since she had an aptness at arriving a little bit ahead of time. Now imagine his surprise when he opened the front door to see a man whose description fit that of a certain enigma from the past. 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N - Hey, ya'll. Finals are done, finals are done. Yeah, if you guys don't necessarily like this story sucks for you I'm too happy to care. Really, though, nothing could ruin my good mood now. But if you do like it drop me a line.

  


"So I guess you're the infamous Tristan DuGrey," Jess stated rather than asked after recovering from the shock of coming face to face with Rory's long time enemy.

  


Smirking Tristan replied just as easily, "So I guess you're the famous Jess Mariano and newly discovered husband to Paris Gellar. Are you going to invite me in?"

  


"Actually in consideration to your own health I'm pretty sure you should be running in the other direction rather than wanting to stay here." At Tristan's confused look Jess began a short explanation. "Paris decided to play matchmaker so Rory Gilmore is now on her way over here and will be none too happy to see you in one of her best friend's apartment."

  


"I think I'll take my chances. Besides I've dealt with a pissed off Rory before." Tristan's calm and collected voice betrayed his emotions but nonetheless walked in when Jess shrugged in response and let him through the door.

  


"You can make yourself comfortable on the couch because dinner isn't ready yet and Paris has yet to show up," he paused considering his statement, "Rory's not here yet also but that's probably a good thing."

  


Tristan shrugged nonchalantly and sat on the couch and began leafing through a magazine while Jess continued on to the kitchen. A couple minutes later spent in relative silence with only minimal sounds from the kitchen to fill the empty void, the door swung wide open and in walked a brunette.

  


"Hey, Jess, wouldn't have come in like that if you hadn't had left your door unlocked. You know, in New York that's not entirely safe so next time be more..." Rory trailed off uncomfortably when she finally noticed the figure, formally seated on the couch, who had risen to greet her. She had paused in the middle of removing her long leather coat and her eyes moved between the slightly nervous Tristan and Jess who had paused in the kitchen doorframe, a towel draped over his shoulder and a sauce-coated spoon in one hand. Quickly Rory shrugged her coat back on, took three quick, confident steps towards Tristan, slapped him full across the face, then picked her purse off the table and walked out.

  


A shocked and disturbed Paris walked in merely seconds after Rory had left and noticed the forming red mark on Tristan's face and the small puddle of sauce dripping on to the tile floor. "I'm guessing that blur was Rory storming out of here."

  


After equipping Tristan with an ice pack, Paris began adamantly apologizing to him for the incident, "Oh my god, Tris, I am so sorry about that. I really didn't think that she would react that badly."

  


Managing a wobbly grin Tristan replied, "That's alright. Rory always was a little spontaneous. And after what I had done to her senior year I'm not all to surprised at her reaction."

  


"So you guys still feel up to eating?" Jess called out from the kitchen, walking in as he finished his sentence.

  


This time Tristan really grinned. "Are you kidding? I'm starved. And that smells great." The dinner continued with light conversation and by the time Tristan was leaving Rory's hand imprint was barely noticeable which Jess took the time to point out to him. Tristan noted the last comment, now knowing why Paris and Jess were married or had even started dating.

  


Upon reaching his hotel room Tristan made a mental note to begin something first thing in the morning and after listening to his messages, one of which was from his father questioning about the merger, he fell into a light, uneasy sleep.

  


Rory woke up, running a little later than usual and wondering why her hand lightly stung. Shaking away the fog that comes with sleep she suddenly remembered the events of last night and her brash action, concerning a certain blonde man. Arriving at her small corner office with a cup of coffee in her hand which had rendered later than she already was, Rory noticed a small group of people gathered outside her door.

  


"Excuse me, excuse me," exasperated, Rory tried a trick her mother had told her to do in crowds. "Hot coffee coming through, watch your stuff." Immediately the crowd parted and after noticing who it actually was, a young intern, Jenn, ran up to her and exclaimed, "Oh, Miss Gilmore I don't think you'll even fit in your office."

  


"What are you talking about, Jenn?" Rory stopped in her tracks as she became closer to her office. Through the glass walls she was able to see that someone had filled her space with roses. They were strewn about carefully, in every color imaginable. Rory opened the door and sure enough petals spilled out, cautiously walking around she searched for a card. Finally settling on a shelf with pictures she spied a large cup of coffee sitting innocently next to a picture of her and Lane with a card propped up against it. 

  


Mary

A thousand roses for a thousand apologies. You're probably not impressed by this but it was worth a shot.

- Tristan

  


Rory glanced around her office one more time. It sure as hell looked as if someone had thrown a thousand roses in there not including the petals that covered everything.

  


Paris had arrived at her office early as usual but in a terrible mood. Passing by Madeline, the secretary rose and followed her into the luxurious space.

  


"So I'm guessing this is where my promise yesterday comes into play."

  


Glaring at Madeline as her only response Paris decided to ignore her for the rest of the conversation. 

  


Not even noticing Paris' lack of response Madeline continued, "But according to someone at the 

Times, a certain Miss Gilmore's office was filed with a thousand roses from another certain Mr. DuGrey."

  


Now having her interest peaked Paris turned to interrogate Madeline, "So you're saying that Tristan sent Ror a thousand roses." Madeline nodded eagerly in response. "Damn, after what happened last night I would think that he would never try to go near her again." Then Paris almost hit herself. The last comment did not escape Madeline's ears and immediately returned her attention t the fated dinner.

  


"What did happen last night with Rory and Tristan?" Maddy asked suspiciously, leaning heavily against the doorframe as she inspected Paris' emotions.

  


Sighing heavily Paris gave Madeline the cliffs note version which was really the only version of Rory/Tristan interaction last night, "She came in. She saw him. She slapped him. She stormed out." 

  


"You would think that an Ivy League education would come up with a better explanation than that," Madeline stated sarcastically returning to her desk.

  


Minutes after Madeline had left her phone rang, yet, Paris hesitated to answer for fear that the person on the other end would be the infuriated Rory. Instinct always was one of her most dependable qualities.

  


"Paris Gellar Mariano! You will pay," Rory had growled into the phone after having difficulty finding the damn device due to Tristan's surprise present.

  


"Wait! Before you say anything I just need to ask one thing."

  


"What?" she asked exasperated at having been cut off.

  


"Okay, I know I normally don't do this but...please don't kill me. Please, please, please," Paris begged in the sincerest form of apologizing.

  


"Oh no, death is too...painless for this. I mean, I even asked you not to bring any surprises. This is a crime worse than offending coffee. The punishment has to be very well thought out and suitable and...and just exactly were you trying to do last night? Were you going to set me up?" Rory asked finally remembering the real reason she had called Paris.

  


"No, no, of course not, whatever gave you that idea? Just...look at the situation this way, at least you got to finally hit him," Paris said trying in vain to appease Rory and her current homicidal thoughts.

  


"Yeah, that did feel pretty good. Yet, not the point."

  


"Eh, sorry. So I heard you got a delivery this morning."

  


Rory considered letting Paris off the hook for a little while. "Yep, apparently a thousand roses. I mean it took me, like, five minutes to find the phone."

  


"Apparently?"

  


"Well, I wasn't about to count them all. And that's what his note says."

  


"Oh, was there anything else you needed cause I really have a lot of work," Paris said not really attempting to lie just unable to ignore the very large pile of paperwork Madeline had just placed on her desk.

  


"Sure, go work. But you will still be paying for this," Rory slammed the phone down, infuriated with her friend's actions. Just where did she get off judging past emotional baggage, or lack thereof.

  


Her mental tirade was suddenly interrupted by a brisk, stern knock on her door. Rory tentatively called out a "Come in" and waited for the figure of her section editor to further enter her office. The exchange of pleasantries between the esteemed writer and the demanding editor had ended long ago so Mr. Witz took a seat without any prompting.

  


By now Rory had learned that she could go on working with her laptop and usually Witz spouted out whatever information she needed then left the same, silent way that he had entered. But this time he remained sitting, unmoving, and most importantly soundless. She turned away from her computer slowly hands still frozen above the keyboard and hesitantly asked, "Can I help you with something, Mr. Witz?"

  


"Rory, I have a favor to request of you. And while I'm sure it won't make you happy, it will allow you to return to your hometown for about a week or two," he replied with careful consideration.

  


Rory eyed him suspiciously before replying, "What's the catch? And don't tell me there isn't one cause it always ends up that something has to be done."

  


The forlorn editor sighed heavily and rubbed his temple, in obvious frustration of his current situation. "I wasn't even going to lie to you. To go back you'd have to undertake a story that just has to go in but cannot be done . Annie has been out with pneumonia almost all week and her article involved something about affordable weekend getaway spots. And I happen to know for a fact that your mother runs an inn so if you could just help a guy out here..." He trailed off, losing steam in his attempts to convince her. "I can't make you write this article, Rory. If you skip it nothing at all will happen to your career and it won't even be your fault, just a lousy editorial mistake. But, please, you're my only hope."

  


"Alright, I'll go and I'll write the story," she finally relented, seeing how conflicted he was and how much good a weekend home would do for her.

  


"You will not regret this, Rory. You're looking at another week of paid vacation and a hefty bonus at the end of the year," he was already at the door, all smiles.

  


"Mr. Witz, you don't have to," Rory attempted to protest, but he cut her off by leaving the office. "Well, another vacation does sound nice," she commented to herself as she finally began to reap the benefits of hard work.

  


Rory immediately picked up the phone and dialed the number burned into her memory forever. She waited for the wacky and bizarre answering message and was not disappointed, even after her mom quit half way through mumbling about needing her partner in crime. "Hey Mom, that might just come true. Guess whose coming home for two weeks." 

  



End file.
